Calcium is a mineral that is essential for life, yet millions of people do not get adequate assimilable calcium on a daily basis. Calcium plays an important role in building stronger, denser bones early in life and keeping bones strong and healthy later in life. Almost 99 percent of the calcium in the body is found in bones and teeth as calcium phosphate. In addition to building and maintaining strong, healthy bones, calcium is crucial for blood coagulation, energy production, glandular secretions, beating of the heart, nerve conduction, muscle contraction, maintenance of the immune system and more.
Each day our bodies lose calcium through skin, nails, hair, sweat, urine and feces. The human body cannot produce calcium on its own and it must be supplied through the diet and/or supplements. When the diet and supplements do not provide enough calcium for the body's needs, it is withdrawn from the bones. Bone is a living, growing tissue made of collagen and polysaccharides that form a soft and flexible framework. Embedded in this framework is a mineral called calcium phosphate (“the bone mineral”) that imparts to the bone its structural strength. Over the long term, continual insufficient calcium intake and withdrawal from the bones causes the bones to weaken and prone to fractures, a condition called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is defined as weakening of the bones leading to fractures. Since 99 percent of the body's calcium is found in bones and teeth, depletion of calcium phosphate from bones leads to osteoporosis.
Research has shown that both calcium and phosphorus are essential to support bone health, growth and development, Bone 32 (2003), 532-540. Calcium phosphate provides the calcium and phosphorus. Numerous calcium products are available as nutritional supplements. Almost all of these supplements contain calcium carbonate and a few are made with calcium citrate. Neither of these minerals is soluble and therefore lacks adequate bioavailability. None of the supplements of which applicant is aware provides calcium phosphate, which is also completely insoluble. The availability and absorption of calcium from these supplements is less than 30 percent of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI), Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 22:286-296, June 2007. This lack of absorption is mainly due to the lack of adequate solubility of these supplements in the stomach.
Attempts have been made to increase the solubility of calcium in vitro. These attempts have resulted in powdered forms of multi mineral compositions containing very small amounts of calcium. Additionally, these compositions are only sparingly soluble in water. No prior art of which applicant is aware teaches of solubilizing and infusing the bone mineral calcium phosphate directly into water or water beverages.
Calcium assimilation by the body has been and continues to be a major issue in its efficacy, especially knowing that the body cannot absorb calcium unless it is in solution, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 51:13-16, 1997.
As stated above, the absorption of calcium from currently available supplements is less than 30 percent under ideal stomach conditions. Reducing this less-than-optimal absorption even further are powerful antacid drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter medications, Digestive Disease Week Meeting, Chicago, Jun. 1, 2009. These drugs (known as Proton Pump Inhibitors or PPIs) work by reducing or eliminating stomach acid. This acid is critical to the dissolution of calcium supplements and their absorption. Most recently published research reports that prolonged PPI use is associated with increased rate of bone fractures, Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 170 No. 9, May 2010.
It is desirable to provide a method to solubilize and infuse high levels of calcium phosphate directly into water, water beverages and juices from which it is available for immediate and complete assimilation and full efficacy irrespective of the acid content of the stomach.